Dear Folks Being Hosted on GreatDave.org

[pd Rydia]

<font color=red>The long and short of this: davidr.com/greatdave.org is going down by November 22. Backup/move all your files as soon as possible. Details why/suggestions as to new hosters below.</font>

<ul>First off, I really wanted to choose a different medium than LJ to convey this. However, I don't have some of your email addresses, and I truly don't want to use AIM to do this; some of you use it religiously, but others don't use it at all. As I am a 1L -- and not in some alternate universe or some grandiose dream, as it once was, but in the real world -- time is a precious commodity that cannot be spent tracking each and every one of you down to serve personal notice.

So here goes nothing.

I am winding down my hosting.

Before we get to "why", let's talk about "who" and "when". By "who", let me make something perfectly clear. I am not XOOM. I am not shutting down your FTP access and giving you two weeks to relocate or die. On the contrary, I am parting with $150 a quarter to run a server that has become unmanageable, not by any of your doing but by that of the State Bar of Texas, the higher education institutions of said state, and the hosting company who provides the VPS server.
To all three of these, I can say that I am the one who set us on this course. As to Spry, I chose them because they were cheap and available for fast setup. Nowhere in their docs was I told that I was getting a Red Hat 7.3 "box" (I knew it was a virtual server, though) with arbitrary patches from God-knows-where to keep it from becoming so much script kiddie bait. Yes, it is these patches that keep screwing up your logins. I switched to OpenBSD -- which is only available on real hardware -- with the intent of keeping the server up and running long into and after law school. I could not predict the circumstances arising out of work that forced the relocation to the VPS; the company had me lead to believe, in good faith, that I would be put on retainer. If not for the Statute of Frauds and some trace of respect I still have for that company, I'd have done some very nasty legal things to ensure I would get what I was promised.

But I made a conscious decision that the company represented the past. I did not intend to relegate this server to the "past", unlike NBCi did when they acquired XOOM. I want to make sure we are perfectly clear on this. Do not flame me; I am not your enemy.

When? Two months, but preferably one. I am willing to wait on this, to some extent, to allow you all to find a new host. Out of necessity, though, I want this over and done with before my final exams begin. So let's call November 22d a deadline as it were. If we can be done with it before then, that would be better. But this needs to be done with equity and fairness in mind. Here are some suggestions for free hosting. For anyone who falls into a liberal definition of "artist" and is willing to part with a small amount of money ($5 USD/200MB), consider Rydia.net. Its founder, Dormando, is what I wish I could have been, and a finer Unix wrangler than I'll ever be. You will get more than you pay for with them.

Why? No one can be told of the horrors of the American Juris Doctor 3-year program. The brave enter it, and with few exceptions, it takes their souls. (Witness the modern perception of US lawyers...) It is a distinctly American creation; it baffles the hell out of the Canadians, according to one who was a prof of mine. So to put it succinctly:

The law is a cruel mistress... and her domain is Hell.

On top of that, I've chosen, perhaps foolishly, to pursue an MBA at the same time. Don't ask me to make time, to strain myself further to continue extending this gratuitous service. I can't do it anymore. And don't tell me I haven't tried. I give up.

I hope this has answered your immediate questions. It is hard to force such change on anyone, even when it is absolutely necessary. Other questions can be posted here or sent to [ask me or DM over IM for the email address]; once this is over and done with I will likely put all the domains ever involved with this service, including davidr.com, to rest.</ul>

--Our Great Dave <p>

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<center><small>"We are just poor, wandering corn farmers..."
</p>

[Capntastic]

Terribly sad, but I've been expecting this for some time. That's all I can think of to say at this time.

[Molokidan]

This is definitely the end of an era. Some big changes are going to happen. . .

Rydia, have you thought of where to relocate the site? That is, is it going to relocate *at all*? That's a hell of a lotta files.

Also, Fun Fact for the Day: Dormando, before he started rydia.org, was a member of the usenet group alt.fan.dragonball, and I had conversations with him many a time about random things. He's really a brilliant guy. <p>---------------

"Well slap a dead fish on me and call me Molokidan!"</p>

[pd Rydia]

My brother has a server--the site used to be up there, remember? Zeke.tzo.com? I originally moved it to davidr.com because I could no longer remotely upload to the server--I can again, because our computers are networked together. It's going to go back up there, at least for now. I don't know how long Eric will keep his own server running, as he'll be moving out at some point in the future--he's almost completed his Master's and all--but we'll see. It'll work for now.

I've found out that Dave will still be around to talk to, through email and stuff, so he won't be completely disappearing! He just isn't going to be hosting his server anymore...just too much stress and all. *nods* <p>

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<center><small>"We are just poor, wandering corn farmers..."
</p>

[Choark]

Woah Dang. I just downloaded all the fan_art and Fan-stuffs I did....

... Dang I was well active back then. What happened to me? ;_; <p><div style="text-align:center"> Shhh! </div>
<div style="text-align:center"> </div>
<div style="text-align:center"> Something cute plots your death </div></p>

[pd Rydia]

That reminds me, Cho.

You're up to 99 fanart. <p>

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<center><small>"We are just poor, wandering corn farmers..."
</p>

[Choark]

So.... close.

Now I've gotta try and do ... it.. now, for my 100th. <p><div style="text-align:center"> Shhh! </div>
<div style="text-align:center"> </div>
<div style="text-align:center"> Something cute plots your death </div></p>

[FlamingDeth]

Oh my! <p>
<hr width="70%"><center>This month's "Transformer of the Month" is Pipes! He turns into a truck, and his primary function is not taking out the trash.</center></p>

[Choark]

I wouldn't get excited =P Even mockingly

It could very easily turn into nothing. <p><div style="text-align:center"> Shhh! </div>
<div style="text-align:center"> </div>
<div style="text-align:center"> Something cute plots your death </div></p>

[Shiranai]

Tp those who need image hosting at the least, there's always photobucket.com. It's what I use. <p>

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